It seems that all the geniuses in the history of the world created their brilliant works in times of plague, and so we could hardly do less! If Isaac Newton discovered gravity, then at least during the pandemic we might, in our distant corner of the world, have our own small revelation: to bring the stratospheric language of the judiciary down, by sheer force of gravity, to a level all of us can understand.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our contribution would be to decode the encrypted record of the courts that is causing so much confusion. And it was enough to turn on the television to realize that what has really been quarantined is criminal law! Truth be told, criminal law has been beaten to a pulp and then some. When one of the incumbents falters (i.e., democratic elections are not won, the opposition is too strong, or a distracting measure is needed to sweep the reserves) criminal law assumes a role it has no right to play.
This concerned us because we three authors have studied and taught passionately at the Law School of the University of Buenos Aires (and yes, it is politically correct to use “passionate” to describe the unpaid, or almost unpaid, work of public university teaching). The three of us have learned and taught that the state exercises violence, and that the best thing to do is to keep it contained so that we do not all become its victims. We have also learned and taught that state violence, in times of democracy, is exercised by the police in the form of punitivity, and that if we want to stop it, the best tool is constitutional guarantees. What are these guarantees? That I will not be imprisoned without a conviction, that I will be allowed to exercise my right to defend myself against the accusations levied against me, that the judge who resolves the case will not be angry with me, and many others. Yes, the three authors have learned and taught that constitutional guarantees are not tantamount to a Bolshevik revolution; they prevent punitivity from getting completely out of control (and imprisoning us all).
The three authors have also enjoyed the incomparable privilege of visiting different offices and buildings within our beloved Argentine judiciary. We know very well the good and the bad of our penal system and how dangerous it can be for judges to use their power to benefit one politician or harm another. Judges have to be there to ensure that constitutional guarantees are complied with, and if they are distracted by also having to conduct investigations, they simply will not be able to handle it all.
The three of us – Raul, Cristina, and Valeria – are worried. Our democracy is too young and courageous to be put at risk by judges who respond to foreign